After 'Louisiana Hayride,' Some Tough Realities

In 1983, Louisiana's newly re-elected Governor, Edwin W. Edwards,
promised to "let the good times roll." And, the joke now goes, the good
times did just that: They rolled away.

More than anyone, Mr. Edwards, with his flashy style and his love
for high-stakes gambling, came to represent the free-and-easy days of
the "Louisiana Hayride"--a decade-long pleasure trip fueled by the
state's booming oil and gas industries.

Now, the disastrous collapse of that boom--which has cost Louisiana
more than 140,000 jobs since 1981--has left the state staggering
through a painful financial crisis.

And Governor Edwards, having weathered two trials on corruption
charges, was defeated last November in his bid for a third term.

The end of the "hayride" has prompted growing demands for reform in
a state long known for its tolerance of political patronage,
perquisites, and corruption.

This change in climate has also refocused critical attention on
Louisiana's schools, say educators, business leaders, and political
observers.

Change Seen a Necessity

The need for economic development has created a rare consensus that
Louisiana must spend more money to improve its poor academic track
record--despite a grim fiscal outlook. Most political leaders
ac4knowledge that the financial situation is desperate.

Over the past three years, Louisiana has accumulated a deficit now
estimated to be in excess of $750 million--about 11 percent of its
total annual budget. It now has one of the lowest credit ratings of any
state.

Governor-elect Buddy Roemer, seeking to prevent the state from
running out of money before he takes office March 14, has urged Mr.
Edwards to adopt a number of emergency measures. But so far, the
outgoing Governor has been reluctant to act on most of those
proposals.

Yet even as Mr. Roemer prepares a draconian program of budget cuts
to be implemented the moment he takes office, the Governor-elect is
also talking about major funding in8creases for education--including a
teacher-salary plan that goes far beyond anything considered in the
state before.

"Our number-one priority is education," said Jeff Cowart, a
spokesman for Mr. Roemer.

A System in Trouble

Few dispute that the state's school system is in deep trouble.

Unlike most Southern states, Louisiana has lost educational ground
in recent years, despite a modest reform package developed by the
Edwards administration and adopted by the legislature in 1984.

Although that program provided pay raises for teachers, the state's
average teacher salary now ranks 48th among the 50 states and the
District of Columbia--down from 28th six years ago.

During the same period, spending per pupil fell from 30th to 37th
nationally, according to the U.S. Education Department.

Academic performance has also been disappointing. Last year, the
federal department reported that Louisiana had the highest dropout rate
in the nation.

And more than half of all its public-college freshmen are enrolled
in remedial programs, according to the Louisiana Association of
Business and Industry, a leading lobby.

'Politicization Is Ingrained'

The business group argues that the school system is in the grip of
entrenched "special interests," such as the state's teachers' unions
and their political allies.

"The politicization in the schools is ingrained all the way down the
line," said Jackie Ducote, the labi's executive vice president. "The
system as it now exists is absolutely resistant to change."

In recent years, Mr. Ducote's organization has proposed a number of
sweeping reform measures--such as a tuition-voucher program--that have
failed to garner serious support in the legislature.

Representatives of the teachers' unions, meanwhile, say they are
willing to support some reforms, even in the sensitive area of
incentive-based pay. But they are urging a cautious approach to such
efforts.

"We want to make sure we avoid the kinds of mistakes that were made
in other states that acted out of political expediency instead of
educational merit," said Virginia Budd, president of the Louisiana
Association of Educators, an affiliate of the National Education
Association.

"We want to be able to pick and choose some of the better components
for our state," she said.

Relations between Mr. Roemer and the two major teachers' unions have
been decidedly cool. Both unions had endorsed a rival candidate in the
gubernatorial race, and Mr. Roemer passed over Ms. Budd and other union
leaders when he formed a task force to advise him on education
issues.

'The Money Is There'

Mr. Roemer, a conservative Democrat who currently represents the
upcountry hill region around Shreveport in the U.S. House, ran for
governor on a platform that called for deep cuts in the state
bureaucracy. During his campaign, he made a symbolic proposal to "brick
up" the top three floors of the office building in Baton Rouge that
houses the state education department.

Mr. Roemer has also spoken highly of the sweeping education-reform
package adopted in 1984 by the South Carolina legislature. After his
election, he met with Richard Riley, that state's former governor and a
champion of its reform program, to discuss those efforts.

To pay for their plan, South Carolina lawmakers approved a 1-cent
sales tax earmarked for education. While Mr. Roemer also advocates
increased school spending in Louisiana, he contends that much of the
needed money can be raised by trimming waste in other parts of the
state budget.

"Our theory is that the money is already there to do what has to be
done," Mr. Cowart of the Governor's office said. "It just isn't
allocated properly."

As a more distant goal, Mr. Roemer has set the ambitious target of
raising teacher salaries to the national average. But he has not
offered a timetable for doing so.

"We have to get on a sound financial footing before we move
forward," Mr. Cowart said.

Symbolic Steps

Mr. Roemer has taken a number of highly publicized steps to
demonstrate his determination to change the way the state government
does business.

In November, he asked David A. Stockman, the controversial former
director of the federal Office of Management and Budget, and former
U.S. Representative James Jones of Oklahoma, who chaired the House
Budget Committee, to review the state's budget and identify wasteful
spending.

In December, he ran classified advertisements in The New York Times
and The Wall Street Journal seeking to recruit applicants for top state
jobs that have long been considered patronage plums.

One of the most important posts waiting to be filled is that of the
state superintendent of education. In 1986, Louisiana voters approved a
ballot measure that changed the office from an elected to an appointed
one.

The new superintendent will be selected by the state's board of
elementary and secondary education. Mr. Roemer will have the
opportunity to name three new members to that board soon after he takes
office.

Power Held by Board

While Mr. Roemer talks of school reform, much of the power to bring
about change now rests with the state board. Besides gaining the power
to select the superintendent, the board has also acquired considerable
authority over education spending.

That responsibility, which was granted by voters in a 1986 ballot
measure, allows the panel to set the specific funding levels that go
into the state's finance formula each year.

Once approved by lawmakers, that level can be cut only with the
approval of the Governor and two-thirds of the legislature.

Political observers say the board's new authority has given it
considerable leverage in its long-running power contests with the
legislature, the Governor, and the state superintendent.

"The board is clearly in the driver's seat now," said Mark
Drennen,president of the Public Affairs Research Council, a nonpartisan
group based in Baton Rouge.

Mr. Drennen said he was somewhat skeptical, however, about the
possibility of a new education-reform drive in Louisiana, given the
current fiscal realities.

"It cannot be done without a tax increase, and I don't see where the
support is for that right now," he said.

Edward Renwick, director of the Institute of Politics at Loyola
University in New Orleans, voiced similar skepticism about Mr. Roemer's
ability to bring about political change.

"He has said things have to change," Mr. Renwick said. "But whether
the people and the legislature will go along with him or not I don't
know. It's still way too early to tell."

Vol. 07, Issue 22

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